I Love You, Man
This was a very enjoyable film. Paul Rudd and Marshall from How I Met Your Mother are both funny dudes and they made a funny movie. What I liked about this movie was that even when I wasn't laughing, I was engaged in the story. Most comedies treat their stories and the emotions/motives of their characters as totally secondary to the jokes, which often leaves you just waiting around for the jokes. The whole plot line is just something to hang the jokes from, which is fine if the jokes are totally hilarious. But rarely are comedies nearly as funny as the filmmakers intend. So, while I didn't find I Love You, Man particularly hilarious, I did find it thoroughly amusing and a nice way to spend 90 minutes of your life. Plus, Maureen and I used more cereal box coupons, so it was free.
"Slappin' da BASS!"Role Models
This film started out pretty strong. It has a humorous premise and most of the actors are pretty funny. Also, the film is loaded with quality KISS references. Ones that show the writers are genuine fans, as they wrote jokes they knew other fans would appreciate. And the first half of this film is totally hilarious and entertaining. Unfortunately, however, the vast majority of the laughs occur in the first half of the movie. The second half, meanwhile, is pretty much on auto-pilot, as the screenwriters seemed only interested in tying up the cliched plot lines rather than writing any more decent jokes. The second half also contains one of the most repugnant lines of dialogue I've ever heard in a movie. One that left a horrible taste in my mouth and, for me at least, left a black mark on the film and everyone involved in its production. The line is apparently supposed to be cool and funny, but for some odd reason I don't find the idea of a woman reassuring a man she just met and is about to have sex with that he doesn't need to worry about wearing a condom because she is all for abortions funny. Excuse me while I cringe and vomit.
Quantum of Solace
I thought the new Bond was very mediocre. The story was blah, the villain was blah, the Bond girl was blah. There is still no Q, which means no gadgets. I'm still not a huge fan of the Dench as M. She creeps me out. And where's Ms. Moneypenny? She's my favorite. And why doesn't Bond smoke? Why does bond only drink casually? He is supposed to be an alcoholic. Why is Bond heart broken and only interested in committed relationships? Why are there no sick one liners? I like my Bond to be a womanizing nicotine addict, who drinks constantly, even when alone, kills with no remorse (following it up with a funny line like "shocking" after electrocuting a man to death) and battles over-the-top villains who are evil purely for the sake of being evil. I think Daniel Craig will make a great James Bond -- once he gets a chance to actually play him.
This is the way I like my Bond.It! The Terror from Beyond Space
This is a sci-fi movie from the 50s that I'd been meaning to see for awhile. I've wanted to see it ever since I read that the makers of it had considered suing Ridley Scott, Walter Hill and all the other creators of this first Alien for plagiarism.
It! is about a space crew returning to Earth from Mars. To the crew's horror an alien sneaked on board their spaceship, and is killing off the crew members one by one. Sound familiar? Not only is the basic plot similar to Alien, but It! also features a scene where a crew member follows the alien into the ship's air ducts because that's how it's traveling around the ship. Also, the alien proves to be one tough little son of a bitch and, in the end, the only way they manage to kill it is by putting on their spacesuits and blowing the air locks. So yeah, Alien did pretty much a total hack job on this movie. The only thing is It! really wasn't that great. It's pretty much just another mediocre, lame 50s sci-fi flick. Meanwhile, I rewatched Alien after watching It! and it confirmed what I've known since I was 8 years old: Alien is one of the greatest films ever made. Alien is such a masterpiece that even though it lifted the plot from this movie (as well as lifting some elements from David Cronenberg's Shivers), it doesn't matter. Alien is sick and it spawned one of the greatest sequels of them all. So, all is forgiven.
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